How to get involved — and stay involved — in your kids’ schools

If possible, attend Back-to-School Nights or parent-teacher conferences. Even a single face-to-face meeting can build trust and communication between parents and teachers.

» Keep tabs on what your children are learning, when homework is due and watch for subjects in which they thrive and those that provide a challenge. Parents may not be able to help children directly with their homework, but emailing teachers and sharing their observations can give children the support they need. Educator Lynn Perrich said she sometimes offers quick and simple one-on-one suggestions to parents, such as spending 15 quiet minutes with a child reading a particular story.

» Consider donating to a classroom fund. Most teachers welcome small donations for supplies and school activities. Lists of needed items can lend insight into upcoming projects.

» Some employers offer paid volunteer time that parents can tap into for working in the classroom or attending field trips. Or, ask employers if flexible time can be arranged to allow for volunteering.

» Use that phone. Most teachers provide email addresses and share the best time for telephone conversations. Parents should follow their advice to children: don’t be shy about asking questions or seeking ways to help.

» Volunteer for after-school activities, such as reading, science or math clubs.

» Classroom not your thing? Consider joining a school committee or a school district committee. Attend a parent-teacher organization meeting or a Board of Education meeting to learn how to guide policy decisions. Go to your local school district’s website for more information.

This is as much back-to-school time for parents as it is for kids.

Busy moms and dads may not make it into the classroom every day or at all, but the advantage of staying involved in their kids' education is an investment of a lifetime. The National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools concluded children earn higher grades and perform better on tests when parents and schools work together, according to Care.com.

Veteran teacher Lynn Perrich said getting parents involved in schools boils down to one word: communication.

After teaching elementary school in Greeley for 26 years and more than 30 years overall, Perrich said she has learned to try — and try again, if needed — to find the best way to let parents know what is going on at school and how they can help their kids.

"They need to know it is a bond for the year. It's a three-way conversation with the parents, child and teacher," she said.

Busy parents often worry they don't have enough time to volunteer in the classroom. Work schedules and multiple children can be challenging.

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Others may be a bit intimated by educators or feel they don't have something to offer. But every parent can do something that will make a difference. Just keeping track of what their child is learning and how to help them individually are huge steps to helping children be successful in school.

In addition to boosting children's educational success, Perrich said building trust with parents through communication also is important when challenges such as poor grades or social conflicts arise.

"Those hard conversations are easier when parents and teachers know each other," she explained. And it is good for students to know their teacher and parents are talking. "Sometimes kids give only their version of how things happened," Perrich said, with a laugh.

Elizabeth Urich, assistant principal at Dos Rios Elementary School in Evans, said, above all, parents want what is best for their children. Parents who engage in their children's classroom, no matter what level of participation, are demonstrating to their children they care.

"It shows investment in the child," said Urich, who taught for 13 years prior to becoming an administrator this past year. "Even asking these simple questions, such as, 'What are you studying?' and 'What did you have for lunch?' shows children that they matter."

Urich said she had parents who volunteered every week to come into the classroom and others who may send an email asking what they can have their child bring in for a class party. "I don't see one as better than the other," she said. Children need to know their parents are interested in what they are doing in school and want them to succeed.

"It really doesn't matter what level you are engaged, just be there," she said.

Conversely, parents should feel free to contact teachers for suggestions on how to help their children, parent Ben Truitt said.

"Teachers are expected to provide vast amounts of knowledge … to have (a parent) who has a skill in a certain area offer to provide real-life experiences is really important," he said. For example, he recalled a time a teacher was discussing Colorado animals as part of the curriculum in his child's class. Truitt was able to bring in the hides of several animals to give children an opportunity to see and feel them firsthand.

Truitt and his wife, Apricot, have made engagement in school a priority for their three children: Aspen, who graduated as salutatorian of Greeley West High School in 2016; Autumn, an incoming junior at Greeley West; and Brennan, who attends Brentwood Middle School in Greeley. Each child requires a different approach when it comes to involvement because of their age. He may volunteer for school projects for his elementary school-aged child fairly regularly while only occasionally appearing at the high school to set up in advance of an event, such as a concert.

As much as parental involvement in schools helps kids, it also benefits their parents, Truitt said.

"I enjoy watching children learn … and when they 'get' something for the first time," he said. He also learns by watching his own children interact with other kids.

Parent Renee Cobb of Windsor said she, too, learns a lot about how her kids react socially as well as academically when she can visit the school or help out on a field trip.

Seeing her children and other students lets Cobb help her kids navigate the social side of school, which can be as challenging as the academic side.

"It's hard to know what's going on when you hear only your child's side," she explained.

Cobb also said parents do not need to be educational experts to make a difference. For two years, she has volunteered to help middle school students make sure they can open their lockers on the first day of school — a simple task that proved very meaningful to nervous kids.

With older daughter Cassidy at Windsor High School, seventh-grader Calista at Windsor Middle School and Camryn, a Grandview Elementary fourth-grader, she has to balance her involvement.

"I do try to go over homework on a weekly basis. And I try to go over papers and rerun problems with them that they didn't get the first time," she said. She relies on emails to teachers to keep her kids on track for assignments.

No matter how involvement is achieved, the effort is about building a foundation of success for each child and a respect for education.

"It's too easy for people to give up today. Sometimes, parents put up barriers … (but) there's plenty to do outside the classroom to make success in the classroom," Perrich said.

While the route to successful involvement is not rocket science, it may lead to some rocket scientists down the road.

"You know, we always talk about how we are developing our future leaders," Truitt said, "But when I go to the school, I see our future teachers, musicians, athletes and laborers, not just our future leaders. All of these kids are our future."

Tips for staying involved

If possible, attend Back-to-School Nights or parent-teacher conferences. Even a single face-to-face meeting can build trust and communication between parents and teachers.

» Keep tabs on what your children are learning, when homework is due and watch for subjects in which they thrive and those that provide a challenge. Parents may not be able to help children directly with their homework, but emailing teachers and sharing their observations can give children the support they need. Educator Lynn Perrich said she sometimes offers quick and simple one-on-one suggestions to parents, such as spending 15 quiet minutes with a child reading a particular story.

» Consider donating to a classroom fund. Most teachers welcome small donations for supplies and school activities. Lists of needed items can lend insight into upcoming projects.

» Some employers offer paid volunteer time that parents can tap into for working in the classroom or attending field trips. Or, ask employers if flexible time can be arranged to allow for volunteering.

» Use that phone. Most teachers provide email addresses and share the best time for telephone conversations. Parents should follow their advice to children: don’t be shy about asking questions or seeking ways to help.

» Volunteer for after-school activities, such as reading, science or math clubs.

» Classroom not your thing? Consider joining a school committee or a school district committee. Attend a parent-teacher organization meeting or a Board of Education meeting to learn how to guide policy decisions. Go to your local school district’s website for more information.